FOUR Thomasian alumni were named fellows of the UST National Writers’ Workshop.
Journalism alumnus Hans Lawrence Malgapu, communication arts graduate Karl Ivan Dan Orit, and literature alumni Kristinne Nigel Santos and Edmark Tan are set to join the seven-day workshop on March 18 to 25 in Baguio.
Malgapu and Tan are fellows for poetry, while Orit and Santos are fellows for fiction and screenplay, respectively.
Malgapu said the workshop panelists and other fellows’ constructive criticisms would be a great help in improving his craft.
“Handa na ako sa mangyayaring ‘katayan’ of some sort. Ine-expect ko na matututo ako sa mga magiging kasama ko rit[o],” he said in an online interview with the Varsitarian.
Orit emphasized the important role of writing workshops in “nurturing” a budding writer for “serious writing.”
“I have been a part of a couple of national-level workshops after graduating from UST. Those opportunities gave me so many things that I still carry whenever I write,” he said.
The UST workshop, now in its 18th installment, is hosted by the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies and is open to Thomasian and non-Thomasian writers.
Literary critic Gemino Abad, comedian-actor and former Varsitarian editor in chief Bernardo Bernardo and screenwriter Jerry Gracio, all veterans on their respective fields, are this year’s guest panelists.
Workshop panelists are creative writing center director Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, deputy director Ralph Semino Galán, and resident fellows Augusto Antonio Aguila, Joyce Arriola, Ma. Ailil Alvarez, Nestor Cuartero, Joselito de los Reyes, Dawn Laurente Marfil, Chuckberry Pascual and Joselito Zulueta.
John Jack Wigley serves as the workshop director, while Ned Parfan is the workshop coordinator.
